Ella Pollett is one of Aotearoa pop music’s most exciting new voices and she’s kicking off New Zealand Music Month with a bang - her new single ‘A Name I Knew’. The young singer and songwriter has been making waves in her hometown of Napier for a few years now. But it was her NZ on Air funded single ‘Losing My Mind’ - released in October last year - that drew nationwide attention and saw her topping the Hot 20 Aotearoa Singles chart.
Critically acclaimed singer and songwriter Mel Parsons has today announced her seventh studio album, CASTLE HILL, set for release on August 7. The news comes alongside her latest single, the emotive new ballad ‘Grain By Grain’
To kick off NZ Music Month, Maria Clara releases her first single of the year through DRM today: Friday 1st May. Blending indie pop with jazz influences, “08:30 (Peace of Mind)” reflects on the importance of self-prioritising and learning to protect one’s energy.
After more than a decade of live performance, refining their sound and connecting with audiences across Aotearoa, Hamilton-based sibling duo ZENTARGE return with their latest single, “Life of a Mischief,” out today. Blending contemporary R&B and reggae with a strong dancehall influence, “Life of a Mischief” delivers a playful, late-night energy grounded in real-life experience.
Midwave Breaks know a thing or two about time — it's the heart of their new single, and they’re choosing their moment well, releasing A Thousand Years today to celebrate NZ Music Month with something positive, hopeful, and built to last. The song is an upbeat, anthemic reflection on long-term love — not the falling kind, but the kind that's already been everywhere and chosen to stay.
Following the breakout success of their single “Where Do You Run To?” - which spent nine consecutive weeks as the #1 rock song on New Zealand radio charts - The Response returns with their powerful new track, “Hollow Hour.” The release arrives on the heels of a successful Australian tour in February, playing packed out venues while supporting Transvision Vamp, expanding their reach across the Tasman.
New Zealand-formed South for Winter, the internationally-touring folk-rock duo renowned for their enchanting melodies and introspective lyricism, has just won the Indie Acoustic Project (IAP)’s “Album of the Year” and “Best AAA Album” for 2024-2025 with their independently-released concept album, Of Sea and Sky.
ZOË VERA is a courageous and resilient woman, and her debut EP LIVE HARDER is testament to the profound well of quiet strength she drew on to survive and overcome trauma - so that she could emerge, against the odds, a stronger and more visible version of herself.
Baby Heavyweight, born in a kitchen in Switzerland, is Delaney Davidson’s 11th solo album. Somewhat more groovy than his previous releases, this is the second album he has made with Merk (Mark Perkins). Building on the smooth depth of the previous album “Out Of My Head”, and taking it into a new realm of story telling and emotive music.
Self-producing Aotearoa indie pop/rock darling Jessica Leigh delivers her second single for 2026 - Dream Girl - from her forthcoming five-track EP I WANNA BE A STAR, due for release this June. Co-written and produced by Leigh alongside Jacob Brown (Muroki, ratbag), and mixed by Noema Te Hau III, Dream Girl is an irresistibly catchy pop/rock cut that leans into Leigh’s signature storytelling and tongue-in-cheek lyricism.
Following the release of their debut collaborative single, Wellington artists Will McClean & Young Gho$t return with “No Giving Up” releasing today. Written and performed by both artists, with production from McClean, “No Giving Up” carries a more direct and resolute energy.
Fresh off a meteoric rise that has cemented their status as Aotearoa's hardest-working blues-band, electrifying trio BB & THE BULLETS are thrilled to announce their highly anticipated second album, WRONG SIDE OF THE RIVER is out today.
This April, the celebrated Māori hip-hop group MOKOMOKAI, are headed across the tasman sea to tour Australia for the first time. Known for moody songs that explore habits and contradictions, the push and pull between life in the city and the country, and how young boys running wild in the dark grow into principled men who’d do anything to protect their whānau, their live show is unforgettable.
Tāmaki Makaurau-based soul-food singer-songwriter dān dān has released self-produced single (cookie) crumble, a quietly devastating acoustic ballad on the slow unravelling of relationships, and the growth that follows. (cookie) crumble traces the subtle process of falling apart - the distance that builds without confrontation, the silence that replaces closure, and the questions that linger long after something has ended.
CAITLIN, the Te Waipounamu-born, Ōtautahi-based indie-pop singer and “prolific songwriter” (Sniffers), today releases her new EP Guardrails, grounded by the focus track, ‘Tied’. The EP moves between organic instrumentation and electronic touches—a reflection of the South Island’s wide-open landscapes and the kinetic energy of Christchurch streets.
There are some projects that sit deeper than music. The kind that comes from lived experience, carrying story, weight, and truth. For South Auckland artist Sid Diamond, EVERYTHING is exactly that. Releasing today, this album isn’t just another body of work. It’s a reflection of a man who has walked through pressure, faced his reality, and come back with clarity about who he is, where he comes from, and what truly matters.
Today, Aotearoa’s boundary-pushing producer Sola Rosa returns with his eighth studio album In The Mids, marking a bold new chapter in a career spanning more than two decades. To celebrate the release, Sola Rosa is heading out on a nationwide tour this May and June.
Put You Down was written in 2024, inspired by a night when the jokes were flowing and the line between playful teasing and something more cutting began to blur. The song explores the way humour can sometimes be used as a means to connect, and how easily it can land the wrong way, particularly under the influence.
There are love songs, and then there are songs born from real moments — the kind that carry weight, intention, and truth. With his new single “Loving You,” Israel Starr steps into that space, offering a deeply personal and spiritually grounded expression of love. Written during a pivotal moment in his life, “Loving You” captures the emotion of commitment, vulnerability, and the quiet courage it takes to choose love fully.
Tusekah today releases her new single ‘Lay It Down’, out April 10 via Xelon and supported by NZ On Air. Blending Pop/Alternative RnB, Lay It Down is an upbeat, groove-driven track centred around themes of authenticity and self-acceptance.
Big Sima & Boomtown are proud to announce the release of their latest single, “Rent Free,” available everywhere on streaming platforms from March 27th. “Rent Free” is the first single taken from the band’s forthcoming EP, the third and final instalment in their three-part series, The Peace Trilogy.
Tami Neilson brings us her rendition of “Are You Sure”, a song Aretha Franklin originally recorded in 1958. On the new single, Neilson shares, “When Nat Boltt asked me to sing this gospel groove ‘Are You Sure’ for a gorgeous scene in her upcoming film Holy Days, I saw the incredible cast of iconic women and immediately jumped at the chance to be involved, saying yes before even hearing it. It was only after the fact that I realized she wanted me to sing in the original key of a 16 year old Aretha Franklin that I rued the error of my ways.”
The ever-energetic indie-rock outfit Clap Clap Riot are thrilled to announce a three-date tour of Aotearoa, marking their most substantial run of live shows in several years. The trek begins in Wellington/Te Whanganui-a-Tara on Friday, May 22 before taking in Auckland/Tāmaki Makaurau on Saturday, May 23 and wrapping up in Christchurch/Ōtautahi on Saturday, June 6.
VĀ, releasing today, is the result of that time of sonic and cultural exploration. A place-based work merging field recordings, found sounds, hydrophone experiments, collaborations with the land and people, blended with bass heavy electronic production.
Amelia Power returns with her new single “Kingfisher”, an introspective and soulful track exploring heartbreak, healing, and personal reflection. Blending neo soul and indie influences, Kingfisher signals a fresh sonic direction for Amelia and the sound she is stepping into as an artist.
New Zealand’s very own pop-dance queen PRINS has today dropped her biggest and boldest body of work yet - her five-track EP, HEAVEN OR HELL.
Deva Mahal’s highly anticipated EP, FUTURE CLASSIC VOL II: FUTURE is out today! Today’s EP release comes on the back of the recent tour announcement, which will see the celebrated Pōneke-based artist, Deva Mahal, performing eight dates across Aotearoa.
Critically-acclaimed Aotearoa indie-pop artist Bridges, has today released her anticipated new sophomore EP, LIFE OF THE PARTY, along with the new dream-pop single and video ‘Drive’. LIFE OF THE PARTY sees Bridges step boldly into an undeniable pop direction, with elements of dream, synth, and singer-songwriter pop woven throughout the project.
Flirty, exciting and upbeat is Sophie-Maude’s new single; the rising Aotearoa pop artist today releasing her dance-floor ready anthem ‘Hotel Lobby’. ‘Hotel Lobby’ is a major indication of what’s to come from this emerging star, marking an evolution of an artist that's growing a stronger, more vivid identity.
“Just Not Into You” is Emerson’s latest pop-rock release, blending sharp, conversational lyricism with a driving guitar-led pop sound. Written in Melbourne with Kiwi producer Ciarann Babbington (Baker’s Eddy), the track captures the awkward emotional territory between honesty and insecurity, turning the uncomfortable act of friend-zoning someone into a hook-driven pop moment.
